


The Reading Lesson

by lumienarc



Series: Hauntober 2020 [9]
Category: Original Work
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:35:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27194506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lumienarc/pseuds/lumienarc
Summary: As usual, late entry for Hauntober 2020 prompt #24: Tarot.
Series: Hauntober 2020 [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1948243
Kudos: 1





	The Reading Lesson

**Author's Note:**

> I struggled hard with this one. As much as I love tarot cards, I am not really into the art of foreseeing. Also, writer's block is really hard to break. OTL

It was almost time for Halloween, but first, everyone was excited about the pumpkin competition. Cecilia walked past the marketplace very hastily this morning. She didn’t make time to drop by Sam’s kiosk either. This morning, her sole objective was to buy spice, and afterward, she went back home through the crowd that would not notice her at all. She smiled when she entered the living room, caught Forest looking at one of her tarot decks. 

“Mama! Look! I found these cards!” he joyfully asked. 

“Did you find it or did your dad show it to you?” Cecilia asked back as she bent over to see which cards he was spreading on his small table. It was the Waite deck. She smiled and gently stroked his head. The kid was broadly smiling back at her. 

“I found it and asked Papa if I could see. He said okay, but make sure I don’t ruin any of the cards or the box. I am being very careful, I promise, Mama,” he explained. Cecilia chuckled. 

“All right,” she replied softly. “I’ll be in the kitchen for a bit, and then I’ll be with you if you want to know more about the cards.” 

“Okay!” 

Having a cheerful son of course had been lifting her mood; she was hoping that this would last. When she entered the kitchen, her husband was there already, drinking tea. He usually would still be in bed, but after what happened, he must have been restless that he woke up earlier than usual. Normally, he would stay awake for long hours, experimenting, and it was more expect-able to see him awake because he hadn’t slept rather than he woke up in the morning. Cecilia kissed his head before putting the bag of spices in their cupboard. 

“How do you like a tarot reading by our newest apprentice?” she asked, smiling widely. Cedric put down his tea and stood up. 

“All right, if you insist.” 

“I didn’t, but let’s go then,” Cecilia said, laughing. She pushed her husband by the back toward where their extraordinary son was still very focused on the cards. He was counting them and then writing the numbers as well as the name of each card. He might be dead before, but he was literate. It made them happy to see him at least know how to read and write without them teaching him first. Now they could focus on teaching him everything else. 

Cedric sat across the table while Cecilia was at the side, holding her guidebook. She wasn’t a tarot reader, but it was a nice pastime activity. “Forest, dear, let’s start,” she said. Then, she began to explain every card, Cedric added some trivia that he knew beforehand, oftentimes unrelated to the art of the reading, but still connected to the cards themselves. Either side of information that he heard fascinated Forest. He took many notes. Their lesson was interrupted by the visit of Margo the Witch. Cedric was the one that opened the door. 

“Oh, my, what is that?” Margo gasped upon the sight of Forest. 

“That is, Margo, our new son, Forest.” Cedric looked proud. “Come, I’ll introduce you to him.” Margo was flabbergasted to say the least, but she followed him without question. As they stood near, Cecilia and Forest looked up and greeted Margo. “So, Forest, this is Margo the Witch. She lives near the southern woods. Margo, this is Forest, our son. He is currently learning a bit about tarot.” 

“Hello, Margo! It’s nice to see you. Are you my parents’ friend?” Forest greeted enthusiastically. 

“Yes, I am. It’s nice to meet you, too,” Margo replied, but she was still in disbelief. Envy rose within her. It wasn’t apparent, of course, but Forest tilted his head in confusion. 

“Margo, why are you turning green?” 

Cedric and Cecilia turned to her at the remark, but they saw no green colour on Margo except her emerald brooch that had always been green from the start. Margo was surprised. A quick realisation appeared, replacing the envy that almost consumed her. Now she was intrigued. 

“Never mind, you are no longer green. Maybe it was just my eyes,” Forest said dismissively. He returned his focus on the cards. 

“Let’s try to read your father,” Cecilia said. 

“Papa, pick the cards. Pick six!” Forest told Cedric after he spread the cards on the table. He tried so hard to make the spread was neat and orderly with his small hand. Cedric held back the urge to coo because he was weak to cuteness. He developed this as soon as he embraced the fact he was a father now. He took a deep breath before he picked the cards. He chose six cards as instructed by the boy. Cecilia prepared the book about tarot that she had so their son could read it with her when he flipped the cards one by one. 

“This is... about what you feel about yourself,” said Forest, flipping the rightmost card. He looked at his mother for affirmation. She nodded. “Judgement. It means final settlement of a matter, a ‘clean slate’, and it signifies reward for past effort will finally be forthcoming. Time for rejoicing and renewal.” Forest was reading the book and he was still confused about it, but it was adorable. “Is this how you feel, Papa?” 

“Well, we have you now, it does feel so,” Cedric said, smiling widely. It made Cecilia almost cry because it was true. 

“I love you, my dear,” she murmured. 

“I love you, too,” replied Cedric. “I love you, too, son.” Forest’s eyes sparkled. 

“I love you two, too!” 

“This is awkward,” Margo said. “Can we move on?” she laughed. 

“Okay, okay, please continue, Forest,” Cecilia said, laughing too. Forest flipped the next card. 

“Temperance. This is what you want most right now. Peace and harmony, a sense of control and life that has a sense of normality again.” Now Cecilia looked confused. Forest continued when his mother didn’t say anything. “This is about your fears. The Hermit. Afraid of loneliness and simply have no idea what to do. This is a sign to take a rest or to relax before making a decision.” Cecilia looked even more confused as she turned to her husband. Forest flipped the next card, which showed The Emperor for what was going for Cedric. “Make most of your resources, especially guidance from man of significance in your life. You are more than capable of influencing people or events to achieve what you want. The book said so.” Forest grinned only to find his dad blinking in confusion. 

“Continue, dear,” Cedric uttered. 

“Your obstacle—am I saying it correctly?” Cecilia nodded. “Okay, it’s... The Devil.” Now this was not making sense at all. 

“Wait,” Cecilia softly stopped her son from saying anything else. “This is not you, Cedric. These cards couldn’t be you.” Cedric nodded and blinked. 

“Honestly, it was just the first card that hit the spot, but I think Forest might have been reading someone else because I knew someone that might be in this kind of position.” 

“Did you visit her recently?” Margo joined in. “If what you mean by someone is her, then it might be accurate after all. What is going against her is literally The Devil and also the figurative devil after all. She should stop abusing the use of her protection because she ought to reveal herself anyway to the one that she received her powers from.” Cedric sighed and Cecilia palmed her face. 

“You are right. It must have been her,” Cecilia said. 

“Can I continue?” Forest asked, unable to understand what the adults were talking about. Cecilia sighed and then smiled, “Yes, please finish the reading.” Forest flipped the last card. It was The Magician. Cedric immediately stood up. 

“I must tell her.” 

“Wait, I’ll go,” Margo said. Forest was, again, in total confusion. Margo got to her feet. “I visited you because I was curious how your experiment went, but now that I have seen the result, I will do the work and talk to her about this. No one should meet her two days in a row before night time.” 

“Mama, what is she talking about? Who is she talking about?” Forest whispered. Cecilia leaned down sideway and replied in a hushed voice, “It’s our friend that lives in the Northern Forest, dear. She is sleeping during the day, and she can be very angry if disturbed before she wakes up naturally. Don’t worry about it.” 

“Did I do a good job on reading?” 

“You did for your first time, dear. We’ll read again after this, okay?” Forest nodded excitedly while Cedric was walking Margo to the door. There was no telling what would happen next, but at least Forest seemed to be happy.


End file.
